𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 - 𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘕𝘛 𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘓 2 𝘙𝘌𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌✓

꒰ ͜͡➸‎11. 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳

Chloe swung the door closed to the separate locker room. She was now sporting the new Magnum on her hip, though it was much heavier than her pistol. Leon readjusted the shotgun strap on his shoulder, grunting quietly.

The heavy footsteps of whatever monster was following them prior were long gone now. Perhaps it had gotten turned around somewhere in the RPD and lost their scent. Regardless, it mattered that they were safe.

Leon walked toward Chloe's desk again, "So... this is your base of operations?"

Chloe lifted her head. Her gaze locked onto her desk. She frowned slightly, "Yes." She simply replied, joining his side. "Yeah... I was sharing desk space with Jill Valentine for a while before... you know."

He nodded. "I know." His gaze roved over to a small Raccoon mascot bobblehead sitting on a small shelf. It was untouched by the disarray in the station. "This is cute." he picked it up, showing it to her.

She gently took the figurine from his hand, staring at it silently. Her shoulders fell as they relaxed. Her face turned neutral as if not reacting to the small toy. She nodded. "It is." She slid it into one of the smaller pockets on her belt. 

His gaze moved back to her desk. He spotted a small, worn black journal sitting atop one of the many piles of papers. He contemplated asking about it - but decided against it. Instead, he secretly swiped it and slid it into his vest pocket. "Well, we'd better get going, yeah?"

Chloe was staring blankly at her nameplate. She bit the inside of her cheek as she nodded, clearing her throat. "Yeah. We should be able to use the fire escape stairwell to get to the West side, where the clock tower is. The rest should be easy from there."

Leon rolled his eyes, "Now you're going to jinx us."

She slid out her flashlight and clicked it on. The white light illuminated the path ahead, leading them toward a small, secluded staircase. She gestured for Leon to follow her.

The two walked up the stairs as quietly as possible to avoid suspicion from whatever thing was roaming the halls now. She reached the stairs' landing on the third floor, and as far as the flashlight went, she couldn't see any threats. 

So, they continued down the hallway, their lights roving over the perimeter to ensure nothing would jump out at them. That is- until Leon's flashlight caught the sinister glint of something in the darkness. 

"Hold up." Leon flung his arm out in front of her. "I think I see something." 

Chloe stopped short. "What?"

"There." He motioned to the beam of light and the creature staring back at them. "Don't tell me that's-"

A sudden, deafening roar echoed through the hallway. The reflection of the flashlight suddenly sprung forward. The sound of claws ripping through wood planks and ugly squelch of rotten flesh and muscle indicated the creature's prowl. Chloe's eyes widened, and she shoved Leon aside, backing against the opposite wall. Leon hit the wall and groaned, holding his shoulder. He parted his lips to comment - but decided against it.

The creature slammed into the metal railing of the stairs. It screamed in agony, reeling from the hit and swinging its head around. Chloe and Leon both pointed their lights at the monstrosity. 

It was the same monster they had encountered when obtaining the Maiden medallion. It was a quad-pedal creature with long, jagged claws extending from its fingers. It had a gaping jaw lined with razor-sharp teeth. Its body was lanky and nothing but pale - almost white - dry skin and protruding outlines of less-than-human bones. It was a wonder how it was able to support its own weight. But the most notable thing about it was its lack of eyes. Instead, a large, human-sized brain took up a majority of the upper half of its head. Which only meant one thing.